News

Sound Rivers staff met up with Swim Guide volunteers this week for some casual volunteer training.

On Monday, Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz and Water Quality Specialist Taylor Register hosted a volunteer training at Brewery 99 in New Bern, followed by another at Pitt Street Brewing on the Pamlico in Washington on Tuesday.

“We wanted to do a more informal training where volunteers could pick up their supplies, and we could hang out and get to know them a little better,” Emily said. “Some of the people who came out have been sampling with us for years; others, this is their first time.”

Thrown in to meet-and-greet, were two surprises. The first, a couple who’d previously helped out with a Sound Rivers clean-up just happened to be at Brewery 99 and signed up on the spot to collect Swim Guide samples at a site without a volunteer. The second, was a Trivia Night win for the Sound Rivers team playing against six other teams.

“Taylor and I and a couple of our volunteers decided to sign up for the trivia game, and we won, which was amazing,” Emily said.  

Are you interested in volunteering for Swim Guide this summer? Pick a site (or two) near you, take water samples every Thursday morning and drop them off the collection point in your area. Email Emily at Emily@soundrivers.org to volunteer today!

We currently have a few sites that don’t have volunteers:

On the Tar-Pamlico:

Bath Creek at Bonner’s Point, Bath

Mason’s Landing, Washington

Wrights Creek Boating Access Area, Belhaven

Yankee Hall Road, Pactolus

Tar River Reservoir, Rocky Mount

River Road at Riverfront Park, Rocky Mount

Upper Neuse:

Poole Road Canoe Launch, Wake County

Rolling View Boat Ramp, Falls Lake, Durham

Hickory Hill Boat Ramp, Falls Lake, Durham

Bartons Creek Boat Ramp, Wake Forest

Beaver Dam Boat Ramp, Beaver Dam Lake/Falls Lake, Wake Forest

Ledge Rock Boat Ramp, Falls Lake, Creedmoor

Highway 50 Boat Ramp, Beaver Dam Lake/Falls Lake, Wake Forest

Lower Neuse:

Highway 11 Boating Access Area, Kinston

Maple Cypress Boat Ramp, Grifton

Oak Bluff Road, Kinston

Sea Harbor Yacht Club, Pierce Creek, Oriental

Rice Creek, off the Bay River, Oriental

Slocum Creek Boating Access, Havelock